UK based Amadeus Capital Partners and Austrian Apex Ventures We are pooling venture capital (VC) resources to create new funds specifically aimed at early stage deep tech startups.
The duo have raised an initial €28 million ($30 million) for the Amadeus Apex Technology Fund, which will close at €80 million ($85 million). The fund has already made its first investment, participating in his $1 million second closing of the previously private German space startup Okapi-Orbits seed funding round.
The fund’s core investment team includes Amadeus co-founders Ann Glover and Hermann Hauser, with participation from Apex partners Andreas Riegler and Wolfgang Neubert.
Amadeus Apex Technology Fund: Anne Glover (Amadeus), Andreas Riegler (APEX), Wolfgang Neubert (APEX), Hermann Hauser (Amadeus) image credit: Amadeus Apex Technology Fund
Early stage
The goal of the Amadeus Apex Technology Fund is to invest between €1m and €1.5m in seed and Series A stage startups with “uniquely defensible technology”, with AI, quantum computing, mobility and Space, robotics, and other fields are included. of deep technosphere. In addition, the fund’s central focus is on the so-called DACH region, which includes Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but not the UK, although it does have some footholds in neighboring markets.
“This partnership also enables early-stage investments in other European markets outside the UK, such as Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Riegler told TechCrunch. “We focused on this region because it has top universities and a large pool of developers, and early-stage Deep He perceives it to be the perfect breeding ground for technology innovation. At the same time, deep tech funding remains low, presenting significant opportunities for growth.”
Founded in 1997 and based in Cambridge, UK, Amadeus Capital Partners has made over 260 investments over the past 25 years. Among them is network security company Forescout, which in 2020 was acquired by two private equity firms for $1.9 billion. , the self-driving startup FiveAI, which was acquired by Bosch last year. Meanwhile, Apex Ventures has made about 40 investments since its founding in Vienna six years before him, most recently his €2.7 million funding round for German biophotonics startup Refined Laser Systems. participating in the round.
Both VC firms have different histories, but both have so far invested in the deep tech space of their own accord.
“We cooperated [Amadeus Capital’s] Hermann Hauser has been an investor in our company for many years. [Apex’s] It is the first fund, a member of the company’s advisory board, and has several co-investments,” said Riegler. “This has since led to a close relationship with the Amadeus Capital Partners team, which wants to expand its early-stage footprint in Europe and has local expertise, deal flow and syndication expertise. For the experience, he turned to Apex Ventures.”
And for Apex, a relative newcomer to the venture capital industry compared to Amadeus, it leverages a quarter-century of investment experience.
“We benefit greatly from our 25+ years of experience and access to a network of deep technologies,” says Riegler.
